


To The End And Back

by Triculeveckian



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Gen, Posessed!Ranboo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:14:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29690709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triculeveckian/pseuds/Triculeveckian
Summary: When Techno and Philza discover an unfinished portal within an ancient stronghold, they accidentally end up with a lot more than they bargained for.
Relationships: n/a
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

_ Tap. Tap. Tap.  _ The sound of Techno’s hooves on the stone floor echoed up through the hallway; Philza turned, noting the flicker of his torch at the end of the corridor. 

“Anything?” he called. The light swiveled around, illuminating Techno’s face as he turned to face him. The piglin shook his head. 

“Not yet,” he said. His voice echoed across the dark cavern, across its slick walls and the damp stone over their heads. Phil’s wings fluffed up automatically, shuffling against his back as he held his torch up towards the low ceiling. 

“I wonder who built this,” he wondered aloud. “I’ve never seen anything like it before…” Technoblade said nothing, and it was clear to Philza that he had no idea either as he started down the hallway again. He followed, keeping an eye out for enemies as he followed his old friend deeper underground. 

Water dripped steadily from the ceiling, but aside from that and the sound of their footsteps it was completely silent. Phil and Techno occasionally exchanged glances with each other in the dark, though neither spoke. It felt wrong to talk, somehow. Almost like they weren’t supposed to be here; like the old passageways themselves were repelled by their presence. 

Phil heard a soft patter of feet and froze, though he barely had time to register what it was before Techno hurled himself forward at the tiny zombie. The piglin let out a roar, swinging his axe into it with all his might. 

“PHILZA LOOKOUT!” he shouted over the creature’s death cry, and Phil couldn’t help but chuckle at his friend’s reaction as the zombie’s mangled body dropped to the stone floor - very,  _ very  _ dead. 

“Thanks mate,” he said as Techno turned away from it. Technoblade nodded to him, before he pulled his cloak closer around his shoulders and started forward again. 

Together, they checked the rooms of the ancient stronghold one by one. Unfortunately they found little of value; a chest here and there, some stale bread, a little gold. It wasn’t enough to be worth anything. 

“We should leave,” Techno said at last, looking around with an expression that was somewhere between tired and annoyed. “This was a waste of time.”

“Yeah, there isn’t much here,” Phil agreed. He stretched his wings out as far as he could - which, admittedly, wasn’t very far with the walls of the cave so close around him. He sighed.

“Do you know which way is out?”

Once spoken, the question hung uncomfortably in the air between the two explorers. Phil and Techno slowly turned to look at each other, and the realization slowly dawned on each that they had no idea how they’d gotten here through the stronghold’s many winding tunnels. The old structure was practically a labyrinth, but neither had thought to actually mark their path through it. 

“Fuck,” Philza said quietly. Techno nodded, then slowly spun around. 

“This is...not good,” he said.

“Should we split up to look for a route out?” Phil asked. Immediately, his friend shook his head. 

“We might never find each other again,” he said lowly. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“Ah, you have a point there.” Phil frowned, thinking over their options. “This place can’t go forever, can it? Should we just pick a direction and go?”

“I...guess we might as well.” Techno sighed. He looked around the room one last time, then started back the way they’d come through the hallway. 

More twists and turns revealed themselves in the old stronghold as Phil and Techno wandered through it. They called to each other in the dark, torches flickering over cold, lifeless walls and the shelves of ancient libraries. Nothing lived down here but the bats, whose calls echoed over their heads, and the occasional zombie which they dispatched easily enough. 

After some time the two came to an unfamiliar hall, though before they could turn around Techno froze. 

“Do you hear that?” he asked, as one of his ears twitched. 

“Hear what?” Philza held still and let the silence close in around them, straining to catch what Techno had heard. After a moment, he thought he did - a faint humming that seemed to come from one of the rooms further down. He and Techno exchanged glances, then started slowly towards the sound. Techno pulled out his Axe of Peace, and Philza gripped his sword tightly in his hand, holding his torch up high in the other. 

“Whoah,” Techno stopped in the entrance to the room, eyes going wide at the sight within. Philza joined his side, eyes narrowing at the room’s dark interior. The humming was slightly louder here, and seemed to be coming from an odd structure in the center. 

The two stared at it for a moment, before Phil finally shook off the weird feeling it gave him and stepped past Techno, holding up his torch so he could better see...well, he wasn’t sure what it was. It was square in shape, with a hollow center, and it was made of some kind of material he’d never seen before. Its edges flickered with a faint purple light, and Phil wondered if that was where the humming came from. 

“What is it?” he asked at last, though he could tell by Techno’s silence he didn’t have a clue either. His wings shivered and he stepped forward, reaching out and resting his hand on the edge of the structure. It was warm to the touch. 

“There’s something in this one,” Techno called, and Phil jumped. The piglin had gone to the other end of the structure, where he held his torch over something spherical that glimmered in the center of one of the sections. He raised an eyebrow, and realized as he glanced back at it that the section he stood over had a small dent in its center, as if another one of those...things belonged there. 

“Do you know what it is?” he asked. 

“It looks like an ender pearl, but it’s different somehow.” 

A clatter of footsteps echoed down the hallway outside, and something tall appeared in the doorway with an excited yelp. 

“Oh thank god I found you guys!”

Philza jumped, wings jolting outwards as Techno let out a shout and grabbed his axe. They both spun around, weapons at the ready - and Phil’s eyes widened as his gaze met the other’s. 

_ “Ranboo?”  _

“Uh, hey guys...” Ranboo eyed Philza’s sword nervously, and he lowered it away from the hybrid as Techno slowly did the same. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Phil asked. 

“Well...I was um, sort of worried you two had got lost down here...so, I uh...came to see if I could help...s-sorry,” the boy stumbled over his words, rubbing his neck anxiously as he finished with an awkward apology. Philza sighed, and his wings folded back to rest at his shoulders

“Well, you weren’t entirely wrong about us being lost,” he said. “Do you know how to get out of here?”

“Of course! I left a trail so I wouldn’t get lost.” Ranboo grinned a little, but then his eyes widened as he caught sight of the structure behind them. 

“Whoah...what is that?” he asked. “It’s...it’s humming.”

“We uh, don’t know,” Philza said shrug. “Do you know anything about what it is?”

“I have no idea.” Ranboo shook his head, tail flicking back and forth, and he looked to Philza with curious eyes. “Can I…?”

“Sure.” Philza stepped aside so he could better see the structure, and Ranboo’s eyes widened as he took in its shape and colors. 

“There’s something like an ender pearl in this one over here,” Techno offered, pointing to the one section that had been filled in. Ranboo’s eyebrows shot up, and he ran over to the piglin’s side. 

“That’s...an eye of ender,” he said after a long pause. 

“A what?”

“I know how to make these!” Ranboo suddenly jumped to his feet, startling Techno, though the piglin stopped himself before he could swing the axe he still held in his hands. Philza raised an eyebrow at the two.

“How?” he asked.

“You need blaze powder and ender pearls. I made one before, on accident, but I didn’t know what to do with it so I got rid of it. I think...I think I could do it again?” He looked at Techno, who automatically turned to Phil. He shrugged. 

“We can try. I know Techno has blaze powder, and I’ve got a lot of pearls.” One of his wings stretched outward, motioning to the exit. “Care to lead the way out of here, Ranboo?” The ender boy nodded excitedly, jumping ahead of the duo back into the hallway. He’d left a trail of torches to the strange room, and the group was able to follow the lights back to the surface. Philza breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped into the sunlight, shaking out his wings and stretching them to their furthest extent. They were...nothing like what they’d once been, ragged and torn with burnt sections where the feathers had never grown back from their injuries. Ranboo’s eyes widened slightly at the sight, though he quickly ducked his head when Phil looked at him. 

“Let’s get back and see what we can do,” he said, his voice even as if nothing had happened. Ranboo nodded, looking somewhat relieved, and together the group started back towards Techno’s house. A light snow fell as they walked, muffling their footsteps, and Philza automatically lifted a wing to protect Ranboo from the precipitation. He looked up at him gratefully.

The three were cold when they finally got back to the house, especially Ranboo, despite all their warm cloaks and snow gear. Philza put a pot of water on the stove and they gathered around the fireplace, where they settled down to talk about what they’d found. 


	2. Chapter 2

“Does this look like it?” Techno held up an ender pearl that wasn’t an ender pearl, and Ranboo studied it carefully before nodding to the piglin. 

“That’s it! That’s just like what I made!”

“So...why were you making these Ranboo?” Philza asked. He took the ender eye from the hybrid, looking over it with a frown. Ranboo just shrugged. 

“I uh, don’t remember,” he said. “Cause...y’know…” Techno and Phil exchanged glances, though neither said anything. Phil sighed. 

“I suppose it doesn’t matter,” he said, handing the eye back to Ranboo. “How many of these do we need again?”

“Nine, I think,” Techno said. 

“I wonder what will happen when we fill them in...” Phil looked at the shimmering eye of ender, then shook his head. 

“What if it’s dangerous?” Techno asked, crossing his arms and glaring at the ender eye. “Whatever that thing is is pretty close to my base, and I don’t want it ruining my property value, y’know? I want to keep being rich, Philza.”

“Of course you do,” Phil said with a laugh. “It definitely can’t hurt to go prepared when we go back there.” He glanced at Ranboo, who was vigorously nodding his agreement. 

“I-I like the sound of that,” he said. “Being prepared, I mean.”

“Alright. We can go back tomorrow, then,” Philza decided. “That will give us enough time to fully prepare once we make the rest of these eyes.” Techno nodded, then stood up. 

“Guess I’ll sharpen my axe, then,” he said. Phil nodded. 

“We’ll join you in an hour or so,” he called after him. 

The three worked late into the night once the eyes had been prepared, mending armor and weapons and preparing as many potions as they could think of. At one point Techno disappeared into the snow for over an hour, and returned with a terrifying number of wither skulls in his inventory. Ranboo meanwhile wrote a letter for just in case the worst happened, explaining where the three had gone and what they were doing. He said he wasn’t worried, though. 

Phil knew he was lying. 

“Is that everything?” Ranboo fidgeted nervously, checking his supplies for the dozenth time while Techno adjusted the cape around his shoulders. Phil reached out and put a hand on the hybrid’s shoulder, giving him an encouraging nod. 

“It’ll be okay mate,” he said. “But if you want to sit this one out, you can.”

“No, I want to come with you,” Ranboo answered, though his voice trembled ever-so slightly. “I...I want to help you guys.”

“Alright.” Philza pulled his cloak around his shoulders, bracing against the cold wind that whistled through the doorway as Techno pulled the door open and they set off into the snow once more. The day was both sunny and bitterly cold, and the trio remained quiet as they retraced their steps back to the stronghold. Technoblade seemed lost to his thoughts; Ranboo, to his anxieties, and Phil...he listened to the sound of their footsteps, eyes scanning the white world around them for anything that could threaten the group. Thankfully they were lucky, and the trip remained uneventful clear to the cave’s entrance. 

Ranboo’s torch path had gone out, but they were able to follow its remains back to the strange room without too much trouble. It was still humming. 

“What do you think it is?” Ranboo asked Philza as they stopped in the room’s entrance. He frowned at the question, then shook his head. 

“The only similarity I’ve been able to think of is that the configuration is similar to the portals we use to access the Nether. I suppose it’s possible that it may open a different kind, to another dimension.”

“Do you know what kind of dimension?” Philza shook his head. 

“We’ve never seen or heard of anything like this before. It might not even be a portal, that was just my guess.”

“Well, either way we’re about to find out.” Technoblade retrieved the bag of ender eyes from around his waist, handing several to Ranboo and another handful to Phil. He hesitated, then went to one of the empty sections and set the ender eye in the indentation. It fit perfectly, and his eyes widened as the humming sound grew slightly louder.

“That’s not concerning at all,” Techno said, though he still reached out and fitted another eye in. Ranboo followed, clearly anxious but still wanting to help them. Phil set the last eye in its place, and all three let out a shout as the humming suddenly erupted in a loud note. The sound was excruciatingly loud at first, reverberating across the room several times before fading to nothing. When Phil finally looked up again he saw that the space in the center of the structure had disappeared, replaced by a yawning black void. He blinked. 

So, it  _ was  _ a portal. 

“Uh, Ranboo?” At the worried tone in Techno’s voice Phil tore his gaze away from the portal, looking back at the hybrid with raised eyebrows. Ranboo stood perfectly still in front of the structure - exactly where he’d been when Phil placed the last ender eye - his gaze locked on its dark center. Phil’s chest tightened as he realized that the boy’s eyes were glowing - not red or green like they did when he sleepwalked, but purple like the color that the portal had once glowed.

“Ranboo?” He repeated. Ranboo didn’t answer. He stepped towards the portal and Technoblade lunged forward, grabbing his arm and pulling him away. 

“Ranboo, stop! What’s going on?” 

Ranboo turned towards Techno, and he  _ snarled.  _ He tore his arm free, grabbing his axe and swinging it at the piglin with all his might. Philza jumped forward with his sword, just managing to deflect the blow and give Techno enough time to duck out of the way. Ranboo-that-wasn’t-Ranboo stumbled back as Phil joined his friend’s side, and they both held their weapons up. 

“Ranboo?” The hybrid looked at them, axe still in hand, then turned and leapt into the portal. 

“Ranboo  _ no!” _ Philza lunged after him, but Techno grabbed his arm and yanked him back before he could follow the boy through. They stumbled back into the wall and Philza froze, gaze locked on the portal, straining to catch any sign of the boy who’d been standing there less than a few seconds ago - but Ranboo had disappeared without a trace. The only evidence to him having ever been there was the portal itself, dark and menacing and horribly silent. 

“Phil, you okay?” Technoblade let go of his arm, but Phil couldn’t tear his gaze away from the portal. Silence settled over the two, before Techno broke it again. 

“Should we follow him through?”

“How would we get back?” Philza finally looked over at his old friend; it felt like the room had suddenly gotten cold, and he pulled his cloak closer around his shoulders. The piglin looked away, shuffling awkwardly. 

“I have no idea. This isn’t like the nether, I have no idea how to create...this.” Techno gestured to the portal, shaking his head. “We...but Ranboo…”

“We need to figure out what the fuck this is,” Philza said at last. “We have to know what we’re getting into, especially if we want to save Ranboo from...whatever the fuck just happened.”

“Why didn’t it affect us?” Techno wondered aloud, frowning as he stepped back towards the portal. He put a hand on the edge of it, looking down into the black swirling void. “Why only Ranboo?”

“I...I have no idea.” Philza sighed in frustration, wings twitching agitatedly as his mind tried desperately to run through ideas and options. “I don’t know…”

“There is that library we saw, back when we were first here,” Techno said after a moment. “Maybe we can find it again, there might be something there that could explain what happened. They’ve got to have  _ something  _ on what that portal is or where it goes, right?” Philza considered the idea for a moment, before he nodded. 

“That seems to be our best shot right now,” he agreed. “We’ll get everything we can find...hopefully we can still save him.” Technoblade put a hand on his shoulder, and he glanced at his old friend. 

“We’ll do what we can,” he said. Philza nodded. 

“Let’s go find that damn library.”


	3. Chapter 3

It was long after dark by the time Philza and Techno returned to the house again, their arms and satchels laden with dusty books of every imaginable size and color. They piled them up on the table, and Techno got a fire going in the fireplace while Philza found something for them to eat. 

Then they sat down, and with candles in hand they read until the sun rose. 

Neither had moved by midmorning, when a knock sounded at the front door. Philza, exhausted and only sort-of focused on something he could barely translate, nearly fell out of his chair at the sound. Techno glanced up, then went to answer it. 

“What are you doing here?” Philza finally looked up from his reading, and found none other than Tubbo looking up at Techno. His expression was nervous; Tommy stood behind him, looking somewhat annoyed. 

“Uh, is Ranboo here?” Tubbo asked. “He...he said we’d meet up over an hour ago, and he’s not at his house…”

“Uh…” Techno’s demeanor quickly shifted from threatening to awkward, and in a panic he looked to Philza for help. He sighed and stood up, joining Techno at the door. 

“He...must’ve forgotten, probably,” he said. “Maybe he’ll be back later.” How the hell could he explain something like this to these two? There was no way he could- 

“You’re full of shit.”

“What?” Tommy crossed his arms over his chest, glaring up at Phil. 

“You heard me. You’re lying and I know it. What the fuck did you do to Ranboo, you bastard?” Techno drew his sword and that at least made the teen back away, though he still glared daggers at the two over the blade. Tubbo hadn’t moved. He looked between his friend and Techno, confusion written all over his face. 

“But you’re...aren’t you friends?” he asked. “Why would you…”

“No, no no no.” Philza shook his head, and let out a sigh. “That’s...that’s not…”

“Then fuckin tell us what’s going on!” Tommy demanded. He ignored the sword Techno held and stepped forward, eyes narrowed angrily. “What the hell happened? Why are you two acting so weird?”

“We’re…” Techno also sighed, then lowered his sword. “It’s complicated.”

“We have all day,” Tubbo said. Then added; “Please?”

Techno and Phil exchanged glances. Phil shrugged; there was no point in trying to get out of telling the truth at this point. 

“I guess they might as well come in,” he said. “They were his friends too.”

“That doesn’t sound ominous at all.” Tommy ducked between Philza and Technoblade, and his eyes widened at the sight of the kitchen table. “Whoah, I knew you two were nerds, but I didn’t think it was this bad!” He laughed and picked up a book, then yelped when Philza smacked him with a wing. 

“Put that the fuck down,” he snapped. 

“Okay okay okay!” Tommy set the book down and backed up so that he was by Tubbo again, who’d just entered behind him. “So what happened?”

“Yeah, where’s Ranboo?” Tubbo chimed in. 

“Uh...the short answer is, we don’t know,” Techno said. 

“And the long answer?”

“Well...we might’ve found a portal that goes to a dimension none of us has ever seen before.”

“You  _ what!?”  _ The piglin sighed. 

“Look, I told you it was complicated.” 

“Just let him explain,” Tubbo said, nudging his friend with his elbow. Tommy glared at him, but nodded. 

“Alright alright, just tell us.”

“Ranboo helped us get the ender eyes we needed to open it.” Philza spoke this time, his voice tense. “We didn’t know what would happen, but when the portal opened Ranboo just...stopped talking to us. His eyes turned purple and he jumped in.”

“Why didn’t you stop him?” Tommy demanded. 

“I tried, you idiot.”

“Why didn’t you go after him?”

“Because we don’t know what the fuck’s on the other side!” Philza’s wings snapped open in agitation and Tommy flinched away; he glared at the kid for a long moment, before he let out a long sigh and pulled his wings back against his shoulders. 

“That’s why we have the books,” Techno said, glancing between the two. “We got them from inside the stronghold...we’re trying to figure out what might be there and what might’ve happened to Ranboo so we can save him.”

“Wait...hold up.” Techno, Tommy and Philza looked over at Tubbo, who was frowning. 

“What is it Tubbo?” Tommy asked. 

“Ranboo’s half enderman, right?”

“Yeah? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Enderman eyes are purple. I just, what if...whatever took Ranboo…”

“Took the Enderman too?” Technoblade looked like he wasn’t sure he liked the question he’d just asked, and Tubbo nodded like he didn’t like the answer either. 

“I’d never considered that,” Philza said slowly, eyes narrowing in thought. “But I suppose...we can’t eliminate that as a possibility.”

“So what you’re saying is…” Tommy for once was quiet as he tried to wrap his head around the conversation. “Whatever the fuck took Ranboo...also has...an army of endermen?”

“It’s possible. The whole point is that we don’t know, Tommy.” Philza sighed again, crossing his arms across his chest. 

“You’re going to save him though, right?”

“We’re sure as hell going to try. Ranboo was the reason we even figured out how to open the portal, and he came with us to fight whatever was inside. We’re not just going to leave him now.” 

Silence fell over the four. Philza glanced over at Tommy, eyes narrowing. The kid was never this quiet, and his expression was...worrying, to say the least. Suddenly he turned, grabbing Tubbo’s arm. 

“C’mon,” he said. 

“Tommy? What are you-”

“Just c’mon.” He pulled Tubbo out the door and almost immediately slipped on the slick steps - if it hadn’t been for the other boy grabbing his arm, he would’ve fallen headfirst down them. They slid carefully down the remaining steps and started running across the snow field, Tommy pulling Tubbo along behind him. Techno and Philza watched them go; neither called after the two, nor tried to follow. 

Once they’d disappeared from sight, Phil turned to Techno. 

“What do you think scared them off?” Techno shrugged. 

“It doesn’t really matter. I doubt they would’ve helped much anyways.” Phil sighed, turning away from the snow and back to the problem at hand. 

“Yeah, you’re right. It doesn’t matter.” 

The words on the page were blurring together when Phil felt a weight on his shoulder. He started, then looked up - it was Techno. 

“You need to sleep,” the piglin said gruffly. 

“I need to figure out what the fuck this...this…” he squinted at the page.

“Exactly.” Techno reached out, gently closing the book Philza had open before him. “You won’t be able to help Ranboo if you can’t function Philza.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Phil grumbled, though he grudgingly stood and allowed Techno to lead him to one of the beds downstairs. He sat down on the mattress, and after a moment Techno sat beside him. 

“I have a bad feeling,” Phil said after a long moment. “About...following Ranboo inside.”

“Yeah...what I could find didn’t exactly bear tidings of great joy,” Techno agreed in a tired voice.

“There was something…about some kind of monster. A great beast who guarded...they called it the End, I think. Or something similar.”

“A guardian that controls its…” Techno frowned. “Servants? Slaves?” 

“I don’t know...” Phil sighed, leaning against Techno’s shoulder. The piglin stiffened slightly, a bit startled, though he didn’t pull away. 

“There was a lot of talk about...destruction. Death.”

“Do you think we’ll die if we go in there?” Phil’s voice wasn’t fearful; rather curious. Techno didn’t answer him at first. Then he chuckled. 

“Technoblade never dies,” he said. He glanced at Phil. “We’ll worry about it tomorrow, alright? For now, you need to rest.”

“Tomorrow.” Phil nodded, slumping into the bed as his exhaustion finally overtook him. Techno stood, going to the ladder and returning to the main room of his house. He looked around at the fireplace, at the stacks of books and half-burnt candles, then went to his room in the loft. 

Tomorrow. They’d figure it out tomorrow. 


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Technoblade woke up the next morning, he found that Philza was already reading again. He glanced up at the piglin as he climbed down the ladder, and with a sigh slammed the book he’d been reading shut. 

“I honestly think we should just go,” he said. “We already prepared for the worst, there’s no point in prolonging it.”

“I see you’re optimistic,” Techno observed with a yawn. 

“Every book I open...There’s nothing new, it’s just the same vague prophecies of doom and destruction every time, I doubt they knew much more than we did about that fucking portal. So…” He slid the book away and stood up, turning to Techno. “Let’s go.”

The piglin considered his words for a moment, then shrugged and reached for his satchel. 

“I’ll trust you,” he said. “If you think we should go, I’ll come with you.”

_ And if we die, we die.  _

Either way, they’d started something when that portal opened that they couldn’t turn away from. Now they had to end it, one way or another, or die trying. There was no way to undo what had been done.

Techno and Phil once again gathered everything they could think of - all the weapons and potions they could find, and their best armor. Though when they set out this time, only two sets of footprints stretched out behind them as they walked. It was snowing again, much more heavily than it had been a few days ago - distantly, Phil wondered if there would be a storm. 

They arrived at the cave’s entrance, and the two exchanged one last look in the light of day before turning to descend into the darkness once more. Techno had marked the way out from the library, so the path down was easier to follow than it had been last time. 

But...something was different. The cave wasn’t deathly quiet like Phil remembered it, rather...he swore it murmured to them in the dark. And it wasn’t the harsh, almost malicious sound of the portal - it sounded more like some kind of distant chatter, echoing upwards from further on down the tunnels. 

What the hell was going on? 

Phil started running, and Technoblade followed him without question. Sprinting down damp hallways, past walls slick with moss and rot, his footsteps thundered in his ears louder than even his many anxious thoughts. 

Gods, were they already too late?

He spun around a corner, and the chatter was a lot louder - it sounded like voices. Many voices. 

“What the fuck is this?” Philza burst into the portal room with his sword drawn, and Technoblade followed with the Axe of Peace. 

“He’s here!” Tommy pumped his fist into the air, and several shouts and cheers echoed after him as he ran forward to greet the two. Philza blinked and lowered his sword in shock - the portal room was full of people from all over the server - friends, people he’d never met...even enemies, all with their best armor and weapons strapped by their sides.

“You…”

“We got everybody we could to help.” Tubbo appeared by Tommy’s side, an almost-triumphant grin on his face. “You didn’t think we’d let you face whatever’s on the other side of this alone, did you?”

“I…”  _ Yeah, basically.  _ Philza didn’t say that though. But he smiled, tiredly. “You got everybody,” he said instead. Quackity stepped forward, Fundy by his side. 

“Look, Ranboo may have fucked us over, but if Tubbo’s going in there, then I’m coming too. He’s my friend.” He held up his diamond axe, a maniacal grin on his face. “I hate your guts, Techno, but if it’s for Ranboo - for Tubbo, then I’ll work with you.”

“Hear hear!” Puffy shouted, and a chorus of agreements reverberated across the room. 

_ “No.”  _

Everyone turned, and many eyes narrowed as a familiar mask revealed itself in the light of their torches. Dream stood at the entrance to the portal room, his armor glowing purple - in one hand he held an enchanted netherite sword, and in the other an axe of the same material. He held it out, and the blade stopped inches away from Tommy’s neck. 

“Step away from the portal,” he ordered. “Nobody is going into the End.”

“Oh yes we are.” Surprisingly, the voice wasn’t Tommy’s. It was Philza’s. He stepped in between Dream and Tommy, knocking the blade away with his own. His eyes narrowed. 

“You aren’t going to touch that fucking portal, do you understand?” he said lowly. “We are going in there to save Ranboo, and we’re going whether you like it or not; whether you’re coming or not. Back off.”

Dream began to move his sword, but in a flash Techno lunged forward and parried the blow. The piglin towered over him, axe held menacingly in his hands. 

“I think Philza was clear,” he said, in a voice that was dangerously calm. “I suggest you listen to him, Dream.” 

“But you can’t go in there!” Dream’s voice was almost desperate. He looked behind Techno, at everybody who stood in the room behind him, but nobody moved. “You can’t!”

“Why not?” Quackity demanded. “What’re you gonna do if we go in there, Dream?”

Dream didn’t answer. 

“You’re not going to do a damn thing,” he continued. “You won’t do a damn thing, because none of us are going to fucking let you. Ranboo might have fucked us over, but at least he treated us like his friends; at least he’s not out here trying to play  _ God.”  _ He pointed his axe at Dream, eyes dark with rage. “Get the fuck out of here you homeless bitch. Or we’ll kill you.”

For a long time, nobody moved. Then Dream suddenly turned on his heel and left, sharp footsteps echoing through the corridor as the darkness swallowed his glowing armor. The room remained silent for what felt like an eternity, before Tubbo turned to Philza. 

“Would you like to lead the way?” he asked, gesturing to the portal with his sword. Phil slowly turned from where Dream had been standing, eyes narrowed, and he nodded. 

“Let’s go.” Philza drew his sword and stepped up to the dark swirling void; without looking back, he stepped in. 

A whirl of shadows encompassed him, followed by a flash of light, and Phil found himself standing on sand. The sand didn’t go very far; beyond it yawned a dark void, empty of stars and color. He stood up and turned around, finding what looked to be a massive island a short distance from the one he stood on. It was made of sand too, bordered by pillars that stretched up into the dark sky around its edges. Endermen wandered around the pale sand below them, their glowing purple eyes barely visible from where Phil stood. Something enormous and dark stood in the center of the island, like a piece of the void given form. It didn’t move. 

“This is...not what I expected,” Phil said aloud. 

“That’s a lot of void,” another voice agreed. Phil whipped around to find Techno standing next to him, his steady voice betraying the confusion in his eyes as he slowly took in the strange dimension around them. His presence was followed by many more, as Tommy, then Tubbo, then Quackity, Fundy, Puffy, Eret, and others he didn’t recognize appeared on the sand beside him. 

Techno and Phil started bridging towards the island. 

“Make sure you don’t look into their eyes!” Puffy called after them, catching sight of the many Enderman wandering around near the pillars. The captain followed close behind, keeping a close eye on Tommy and Tubbo as they traversed the thin bridge to the island. 

“That is...a  _ lot  _ of obsidian,” Fundy went to one of the pillars, his eyes wide as he reached out and touched it. 

“Don’t let your guard down!” Techno warned in a low voice, his tone sharper than usual. “There’s supposed to be some kind of- “ He was cut off as a screeching roar rose up from the center of the island, followed by a blast of purple fire. A clamor of panicked shouting answered it; the others scrambled across the bridge as fast as they dared, ducking behind the pillar as Techno finished what he’d been saying. 

_ “-Monster _ .” __

Philza peered around the edge of the pillar, and he froze when he saw what had made the sound - a massive black dragon hovered over the center of the island and its purple eyes were now staring directly at him. 

“RUN!” he shouted, as a blast of fire shot across the island towards him and the others. He jumped back behind the pillar, and the group erupted in panicked confusion as they saw the fire and heard the beating of wings that followed. Techno was the first to regain his composure, grabbing his axe and holding it up so the others could see. 

“We’ll distract the dragon!” he shouted. “Phil, you and Tubbo go find Ranboo!” 

“You got it!”

The piglin ran out into the open and Sam followed, nocking an arrow onto his bow and firing at the dragon while Phil and Tubbo took off around the other side. A firework exploded against the dragon’s back and it let out a roar - Techno’s handiwork, no doubt. Phil found himself grinning at the sight in spite of himself. 

“Stick close to me,” he ordered Tubbo, drawing his sword and spreading his wings to help boost his speed as he ran. Techno had faced terrifying beasts before and lived - with an entire army by his side, he didn’t worry for his old friend’s safety at all. Tubbo struggled to keep up with him, his axe shaking in his hands, but his expression was determined. 

“Wait, there he is! Ranboo!” Philza flared out his wings and slid to a stop in the sand, turning to where Tubbo pointed. 

And there he was. 

Ranboo stood before the short pillar at the center of the End, his eyes pale and unfocused like a candle held behind stained glass. He was surrounded by several endermen, all of which stood perfectly still and stared into the sands around them. 

“That damn thing really does have slaves,” Philza breathed. 

“The dragon’s eyes were purple too,” Tubbo noted. “It’s...the dragon’s possessed Ranboo, just like all these endermen.”

“We need to keep him safe,” Philza said, glancing back at where the others were keeping the beast busy with their arrows and swords. “I think...I think they’re going to have to kill the dragon if we want to save Ranboo.”

“The dragon might try and hurt him if it knows we’ve come for him,” Tubbo said. Phil nodded.

“We need to get him out of the way as much as possible.” The two looked at each other, then started running. They kept their heads low, slipping through the circle of endermen to stand before Ranboo. 

“Ranboo? Minutes-man?” Tubbo spoke quietly, his eyebrows knitted together in concern. The hybrid didn’t move - he continued to stare straight ahead, eyes purple and emotionless. Tubbo jumped up and waved his arms in front of Ranboo’s face, and at last his gaze snapped down to look at him. The boy froze. 

“Uh...Philza?” he squeaked. 

“What?”

“I can’t...move.” Philza blinked; Tubbo was staring directly into Ranboo’s eyes, and Ranboo stared back, though he said nothing and his expression hadn’t changed. 

“That’s a problem,” Phil said. A shriek erupted in the distance and he whirled around; Techno and the others were fighting valiantly, but the dragon, despite all the damage it must’ve taken looked perfectly healthy. Then it soared up towards one of the pillars, where it landed near something that glowed faintly in the dark sky. 

“It’s drawing power from them,” Phil murmured, as Sam took aim at the glowing crystal and fired. The dragon screamed as an explosion rocked through the air, and Tubbo flinched. 

“Are...are they okay?” he asked. “I-I can’t see what’s happening.”

“I think they’re figuring it out,” Philza said with a sigh of relief. 

“That’s great, uh...can you help me now?” Phil turned back to Tubbo, frowned, and held up a wing between him and Ranboo. Nothing happened. 

“Um, what should I do?”

“Could you pull Ranboo away? He’s done this before I think, Puffy told me about it...he eventually just left her alone though. Maybe if you can get his attention away from me, I’ll be able to move again.”

“I can do that...” Phil stepped forward hesitantly, wings shifting back against his shoulders. “Should I just push him aside, then?”

“I guess? Puffy’s problem was a bit different, I’ll admit.” Phil looked at Ranboo again and let out a sigh, then stepped forward and shoved him away from Tubbo as hard as he could. The ender boy’s gaze snapped around toward him, and he ducked his head as Ranboo let out a high-pitched shriek that echoed across the sand. It sounded eerily like the dragon, and the endermen who’d been standing around Ranboo slowly turned around as they heard it. 

Tubbo’s eyes widened at the sight and he lunged forward, tackling Ranboo to the ground while Philza drew his sword and prepared to face his bodyguards. He spread his wings wide to keep himself between the endermen and Tubbo, who he could hear frantically trying to keep Ranboo from killing him and also from getting up at the same time. His eyes darted back and forth - there were too many, there was no way he’d be able to-

“Duck!” shouted a voice behind him, and instinctively Phil dropped to the ground as a bucketfull of water flew over his head, directly into the lineup of endermen that had been surrounding him. The creatures erupted in panicked shrieks, scrambling to get out of the way and disappearing one by one as the water touched them. Seconds later, Philza was alone. He turned around, and found Quackity helping Tubbo pull Ranboo to his feet. 

“Good shot there mate,” he said, and ran over to help them. 

“I think they’ve gotten almost all the crystals,” Quackity said. He sounded out of breath, but the expression on his face was no less determined than before. “We hope that once they’re all broken, the dragon won’t be able to heal.”

“IT’S GOING DOWN!” a shout rose up from the other side of the island, and Philza saw Tubbo’s eyes widen as he looked up into the dark sky above them. 

“Run!” he shouted. 

“We have to get Ranboo away!” Philza’s wings flared outward, boosting him forward as they all started running. 

“Tubbo and I will shield you. Take Ranboo and get the fuck out of here,” Quakcity let go of Ranboo’s arm and Philza grabbed him, wings spreading to their greatest extent. 

“Come get me you son of a bitch!” Quackity’s unholy screeching reverberated against the dark pillars as Phil sprinted across the sand, and Tubbo’s shouting quickly joined him. He may not have been able to fly like he used to, but his wings made him damn quick. The dragon roared and Ranboo struggled to pry himself out of his grip, but Phil held on firmly. 

“I’m not letting go of you, dammit,” he hissed under his breath, dragging Ranboo behind one of the pillars followed by a bright blast of flames. He glanced back at it, eyes widening slightly. “That was...uncomfortably close.” 

“GO GO GO, IT’S LANDED!” Tommy’s voice echoed across the End, followed by the shouts of the others as they closed in around the beast. Philza pulled Ranboo as far behind the pillar as he could - which, with the half-enderman flailing in his arms, wasn’t very far at all. Then the sand caught on his boots and he tripped, sending the two sprawling across the ground. Philza yelped as Ranboo’s claws immediately dug into his wing, tearing out dark feathers in chunks and scattering them on the ground. He pulled his leg back and kicked at the hybrid’s chest, sending him tumbling away. 

Ranboo slid to a stop, then scrambled to his feet. 

“Ranboo, no!” Philza shouted. He jumped up, sprinting after the boy as he started running back towards the dragon. As he got close he lunged and tackled Ranboo to the ground again, and distantly he heard the dragon scream as it rose back into the air. 

“KEEP IT OFF PHIL!” Eret shouted. 

“OVER HERE, YOU BASTARD!” Tommy and Tubbo both started up a racket, banging their weapons against their shields to make the loudest distraction they could - when they saw that it was working, the others quickly joined in as well. The dragon shook its head and let out a roar, and Philza’s heart pounded in his throat as he tried to pull the struggling Ranboo back behind cover. 

_ Goddammit,  _ it wasn’t working. Ranboo was struggling even more violently than before, and even with his wings Philza wasn’t gaining any ground. The ender boy was going to break free at this rate, and if that happened he’d be dead for sure once that damned dragon got its claws on him. 

Well...there was still one option, one that was guaranteed to work. 

“Fuck...I didn’t want it to come to this, but-” Philza sighed and looked up, locking his eyes on Ranboo’s. 

Ranboo froze. He froze. Phil automatically tried to pull his gaze away; to move his wings, his hands...nothing worked, just like Tubbo had said. He was stuck in place, but on the bright side so was Ranboo. The boy’s eyes shimmered a pale purple, and his expression...was it sad? Phil wasn’t sure. He just knew he couldn’t look away.

They hadn’t made it to the pillar, but hopefully this would be enough to protect him. 

Finally, the dragon seemed to be wearing down. Dark blood dripped onto the sand from its sides, and its cries rasped against the dark sky as it slowly circled the End. Despite all their efforts the beast was hunting - Tubbo knew exactly what for, but there was no way in hell he’d let that damned thing find it. 

“Do we know where Ranboo and Philza are?” he asked aloud. Eret appeared from the other side of the pillar they were crouched behind, gesturing to the other side of the island with his axe. 

“They’re over there, but...they’re not moving,” they said almost hesitantly. 

“Wait.” Tubbo’s eyes widened, and he grabbed Eret’s arm. “Can you show me?”

She nodded and led him around the other side, careful not to attract the dragon’s attention while Puffy and Sam fired arrow after arrow into it. 

“There,” Eret said, and pointed. 

“Oh fuck,” Tubbo said softly. 

“What is it? What happened to them?”

“Philza looked into his eyes. Ranboo’s...frozen him in place.” Tubbo looked back at Eret. “We gotta go help him.” The king nodded, readying his axe. 

“I’ll come with you,” they said. Tubbo nodded, and together they started running. The sand slid awkwardly under their feet, and the two kept their eyes downcast to avoid angering the endermen as they ran. Tommy saw Tubbo and started to call out to him, but Tubbo halted and waved his arms at him, shaking his head wildly from side to side. The other boy stopped, and his eyes widened as he looked over at where they were running. He turned back to the dragon, shouting something to the others and redoubling his efforts to keep it occupied. Eret nodded to Tubbo, and they started running again. 

His heart thundered in his chest, but the urgency of the situation drove him to run faster than he ever had before. 

Phil’s wings trembled; his expression looked panicked, but he couldn’t move. 

They were almost there-

A roar rose up through the void, crackling across the sky like lightning. 

“LOOK BEHIND YOU!” Philza shouted, followed by the desperate screams of the others from across the End. Tubbo and Eret turned, their eyes widening in horror - the dragon was flying directly towards them, its purple eyes narrowed in rage. It opened its mouth, and Tubbo froze as Eret flung herself in front of him; between the fireball and Philza and Ranboo, their shield held high over their head. 

“ERET NO!” 

A bright purple explosion sent him flying into the sand; Tubbo heard shouting - a lot of shouting, and there was sand in his mouth and his eyes and he couldn’t see. His blood pounded in his ears and he struggled to right himself, hands shaking as he lurched to his knees in the sand. The first thing he saw was Phil standing in front of him, battered wings spread to their widest extent. His crossbow was aimed at the dragon, though before he could fire it the creature let out one last scream, and a purple explosion erupted from its body. Tubbo froze at the sight of the horrible fireworks display, and the crossbow Philza had been holding landed in the sand with a dull thud.

“Oh...oh God.” 

“Ranboo!” Tubbo tore his gaze away from the glowing sky, but the happy greeting died in his throat as he turned. 

_ Oh God.  _

Ranboo was on his knees in the sand, cradling Eret’s head in his claws. The king was barely breathing, and their eyes were closed. The ender boy looked dazed and scared, and his eyes were wide as he stared at Eret’s burnt face. Tubbo scrambled over to his side, though he knew there wasn’t anything he could do. 

Eret coughed, winced, and opened her eyes. “Hey Ranboo,” he rasped, and smiled. Their eyes were glassy with pain. “Glad you’re here again.”

“Did I...did I do this?” Ranboo whispered, looking frantically to Tubbo. He didn’t move, still frozen by what had just happened. Eret shook their head, then winced again. 

“Not your fault,” she said quietly. “It was worth it anyways.”

The End was horribly quiet. The endermen had all disappeared in the explosion, the dragon was gone, and nobody spoke. Tubbo looked up and found the others standing around him; Tommy pushed through the group to kneel beside him, putting an arm on Ranboo’s shoulder. 

“He saved you and Philza,” he said. For once, his voice was gentle. Ranboo looked at them, and there were tears in his eyes. 

“I...I don’t know what happened,” he said hoarsely. 

Then Eret was gone. Ranboo let out a shout as their body dissolved into smoke, and Tubbo put a hand on his other shoulder. 

“She has two lives left,” he said gently. “It’s...it’ll be alright, minutes man.”

“He just...he just  _ died...” _ Ranboo stared at his shaking hands for a long time, before he finally looked up at Tubbo. “Can...can we go home?” he asked in a small voice. Tubbo nodded; the ender boy looked up and found Philza standing above him, one hand reaching forward to help him up. 

“Let’s go home,” he said. Ranboo took his hand, and Tommy and Tubbo stood with him to face those who had come to help. Tubbo nodded to Quackity. 

“Thank you,” he said. “For setting your quarrels aside to help.”

“You’re my friend,” Quackity said. “Like I said before - Ranboo may not be my friend, but if he matters to you, that’s enough for me.” Tubbo nodded. 

“I appreciate it,” he said. “And all the rest of you too,” he added, raising his voice so the others could hear. “Thank you - all of you, for helping us.”

“I think we can get back here,” Puffy called to the group from the central pillar of the island. A dark swirling portal had appeared there, and it looked exactly the same as the one they’d used to come in. Phil and Techno exchanged glances across the small crowd, then nodded. 

“I’ll go first,” Tommy volunteered. “I ain’t no pussy.” That earned a few laughs out of the others, and even a shaky smile from Ranboo. He stepped up to the edge, turned around to salute to Phil, and jumped in. Tubbo followed, stepping in after as the others lined up in front of it. Phil wrapped a wing around Ranboo, and the boy leaned against him as they waited their turn to go in. Sam motioned for them to go ahead of him when he got to the front, and Phil gave him a grateful look as he and Ranboo went through.

The sound of bats had never been more welcome to him in his life. 


	5. Chapter 5

Ranboo sat at the kitchen table, a warm blanket around his shoulders and a warm cup of tea in his hands. He stared at the cup, and Philza kept a careful eye on him as he worked on preparing something for them to eat. 

“Are you okay?” he asked eventually. “Puffy went with the others to get Eret; they said they’d bring him here to see you. They’re okay mate, I promise.” Ranboo slowly looked up at him. 

“It’s...it’s not just that,” he said quietly. “It...I just...I remember the portal opening, and then I’m holding a dying person in my arms...and I watch them die, and it…”

“Yeah, that’s...not a good experience,” Phil agreed. He remembered Wilbur, and a shudder ran through his damaged wings. 

“It’s not your fault though, Ranboo,” he added after a moment. “You came to help us, and...Eret made the choice to save both of us back there. She died but...she’ll come back. She knew what she was doing.” 

Before Ranboo could answer the door opened, and both turned to see Techno standing in it, cradling a large dog in his arms as if it were a puppy. 

“I uh...thought maybe you might like to pet her?” he said, and gently set the dog down near Ranboo’s side. The ender boy looked down at her and smiled a tiny smile, before gently reaching down to pet the dog’s fluffy sides. 

“What’s her name?” he asked quietly. 

“Uh. Dog,” Techno said. 

“You named her...Dog?”

“I have fifty of them Ranboo, do I look like I can remember that many names?” at that Ranboo laughed, albeit shakily, and wiped his eyes with the edge of his torn sleeve. Dog wagged her tail, and licked his hand when he tried to pet her again. 

Not long after the two were curled up on the floor near the fireplace, a soft blanket wrapped around Ranboo’s shoulders. The ender boy was fast asleep, his head resting against Dog’s side - luckily, the fluffy beast was all too happy to serve as a pillow for him. The hybrid’s curly hair flopped in front of his eyes, and when he murmured in his sleep Dog gently nuzzled his cheek with her nose until he stopped. 

“We have to make sure the welcoming party doesn’t wake him up,” Philza whispered to Techno, who nodded. 

“They should be here soon; I’ll wait outside for them.” 

“If you want to.” Phil sipped at his tea, glancing over as the piglin went to the door, donned his cloak, and stepped out into the snow. That answered that, he supposed. 

It wasn’t too long before the door opened again. Philza stood, and found a triumphant Eret held up by none other than Tommy and Tubbo, their crown dented and burned but still sitting proudly on his head. 

“He’s resting,” Philza said, keeping his voice quiet. “We have extra chairs; you can wait inside for him to wake up.” Eret’s gaze softened when he saw Ranboo, and she nodded. 

“Of course.” 

Puffy and Sam had come along as well; Quackity and Fundy had gone back to L’manburg and the others presumably to their homes, though even with the smaller crowd it was still a lot to fit inside Techno’s living room. Philza took a seat near the fireplace, while Tubbo and Tommy sat on the floor near the chair Eret had claimed. Puffy and Sam each took a seat around the table, and Techno claimed the chair in the corner so he could easily see everybody. 

It wasn’t long before they dozed off, all but Techno and Phil. They didn’t speak, not wanting to wake the others, and instead looked out at the snowy world beyond the windows. Either the storm hadn’t come, or they’d spent more time in the End than it had seemed. 

Either way, they were safe now. 

And that was enough for him. 


End file.
